Children could be denied citizenship even if their parents are here completely legally.
—
PresidentDonaldTrumpsignedaslewofexecutiveordersonthefirstnightofhissecondterm,settingmanyofhiscampaigntrailpromisesintoaction.Amongthosewashisorderchallengingbirthrightcitizenship—the14thAmendment’sguaranteethat“allpersonsbornornaturalizedintheUnitedStates,andsubjecttothejurisdictionthereof,arecitizensoftheUnitedStates.”
“TheFourteenthAmendmenthasneverbeeninterpretedtoextendcitizenshipuniversallytoeveryonebornwithintheUnitedStates,”notedtheexecutiveorder,whichappliestobabies“whoarebornwithintheUnitedStatesafter30daysfromthedate”ofitsissuance.ItdirectsU.S.governmentdepartmentsandagenciestostopissuingandrecognizingcitizenship-affirmingdocumentsforcertainU.S.-bornbabies.
Lastnight’sorderoutlinedtwocategoriesofindividualsbornintheU.S.whodonotautomaticallyreceivecitizenship,intheWhiteHouse’sview.ThefirstisababywhosemotherwasunlawfullypresentintheU.S.andw
